Photoshop “companion” apps to come to tablets, phones?

Rather than trying to squeeze the complexity of Photoshop into a touch device, programmers at Adobe are considering a number of concepts that would see various tablets as well as smartphones pair with computers to serve as secondary screens, drawing surfaces, teaching tools or companion devices, allowing Photoshop itself more screen space and interface options, according to a “sneak peek” given to CNet at the company’s Adobe Max conference.Under the direction of project leader John Nack, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch demonstrated two “concept” apps on a Samsung Galaxy Tab and an iPad. The first was a tablet version of the “Content Aware Fill” feature found in Photoshop CS5. Lynch used his finger to “paint out” a grouse on a field of grass. The second app was a digital “painter’s palette” that Lynch used to select, mix and paint colors to be used on a connected computer.Adobe has already made some effort at bringing parts of Photoshop to the mobile market, so far mainly through its free Photoshop Express app for iOS and Android devices. A mockup released by the company later showed another concept, using the iPad similar to the way many existing Photoshop users employ a second monitor — to store the many palettes and controls off to one side so they can focus on the image. Mockups of other new ideas more aimed at smartphones, such as a tool palette or tutorial viewer, were also shown